A/N: All right, let's see if we can't get some answers about what happened at the end of the last chapter, shall we?

Phase 1: Chapter 3

New Friends

"How many times has this happened before?"

"Once, but this was a lot less concerning than my first episode," Kurai answered as he twiddled his thumbs, not wanting to meet the accusing face of Recovery Girl, the school nurse.

"What happened that was worse than you passing out with a bloody nose in the middle of class?!" the old, diminutive hero demanded in a cracking voice.

"This was cured by a quick healing session," Kurai answered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Now that his quirk had been inactive for some time, he was back to his usual, shier self. "When I was seven, and I was still getting used to my quirk, there was an… incident."

"You're gonna need to be less vague, sonny," Recovery Girl said shortly. "If you're going to be a student here, I need to know your medical history, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kurai sighed. "It's just… I don't… really like talking about… the day that I nearly died." The old woman stiffened in her seat, but she did not interrupt him. Seeing this, he went on to say, "I… lost control of my temper completely… and since my quirk is tied to my frontal cortex… It basically forced my power into overdrive. The effects just kept bounding off each other- I kept getting angrier, and my power just kept growing, until… Er-hem…"

"What happened, kiddo?" the nurse asked, though the tone was a lot less hostile now.

"I had a massive aneurism," he said in a very soft voice. "I had to have an operation to save my life… Nearly scared my parents to death, and I…" Kurai let out a long, shuddering breath before saying, "I've never been the same since. I always have to keep a lid on my emotions so that when it comes time to use my powers, I'm not already in danger of hurting the people I care about."

"Sounds like quite the burden," Recovery Girl said sympathetically. "Have you seen any therapists about this?"

"Several," Kurai laughed bitterly. "All of them say the same things with different words, but basically they tell me 'it's not your fault'. It's no-one's fault; I know that. But that doesn't help me."

"I don't know that anyone can, sonny," the nurse said a little sadly. "This sounds like a puzzle only you can solve. For now, just focus on feeling better and doing well in class."

"I will," he said quietly. "Thank you for listening, ma'am. That does help."

"Well, it's my job to look after sick and injured students," the elderly woman said with a smile. "But I'd wager that you've got some friends that you can talk to as well."

"My friend, Iida, he knows about all this," Kurai nodded as he moved to exit the room. "But I dunno that I have any friends besides him in the class."

"Well, that's one of the things that school is for," Recovery Girl laughed. "Go! Make new friends!"

"Right…"

Make new friends… the boy thought tiredly. If only it were so easy as saying it.

Recovery Girl had used her quirk to heal him from the aftereffects of his seizure, but the process drained the physical energy reserves of his body, leaving him feeling worn out. Unfortunately, this did nothing to help him out of the funk he was currently in. I made a fool out of myself today, he decided. Forget my scores in the practical exam, I almost attacked another student and my teacher- and I'm not sure which one is worse…

He paused in front of the door to his classroom. School is nearly over, he thought. I could probably just go home and no one would even think twice about it.

He quickly discarded the idea. Aizawa would figure it out, and I should really pick up any assignments that I've missed so I don't fall behind. With that thought in mind, he braced himself and opened the door.

He was met with something completely unexpected as soon as everyone noticed that he was in the room. "He's okay!" Kirishima shouted with a huge grin on his face as he scrambled ahead of the other students to come up to the now-confused boy. "These guys were all worried about you, but I knew you were gonna be fine!"

"Your quirk sure has one hell of a kickback, huh?" a golden-haired boy named Kaminari asked from his desk. "Gotta say that the powers that it comes with are something pretty special, though. Good to see you on your feet, man." Kurai blinked a couple of times, unsure of how to respond.

"I was afraid you were gonna miss out on school, cos I wanted to hang out with you after!" Mina said excitedly. "That is, if you're free?"

"Yeah, some of us were gonna go for karaoke since we don't have much homework this afternoon," Sero explained. "We were all hoping you could join us!"

Iida joined in here, saying, "I'm sure that after his ordeal, Hikari would just like the opportunity to rest at home." He met eyes with his friend, his bespectacled blue orbs asking a silent question.

Kurai looked around at his classmates, more than half of them looking expectantly at him, then back to his best friend, all the while considering his own exhaustion, as well as the words Recovery Girl had sent him off with.

Finally, he said, "I can go with you guys for a little while, I suppose."

"All right!" Those assembled in front of him cheered while Iida shrugged and stepped aside.

"You gonna come along, Iida?" Kurai asked him hopefully.

"I thought about it, but my brother is taking an early evening to come and ask about how my first day was," the other boy shrugged. "Perhaps another day, but I doubt that I'll be getting up on stage even if I do."

"Is this guy allergic to fun?" Kirishima asked of no one in particular.

"Not nearly as much as Todoroki seems to be," the girl with the auxiliary jacks coming out of her earlobes muttered. When Kurai looked a question at her, she shook her head and said, "Never mind. I'm Kyoka Jiro, nice to meet you… Hikari, right?"

"Yeah," he boy said as he cleared his throat. "I'm Kurai Hikari. It's nice to meet all of you."

Once he had gathered the assignments they had been handed while he was out of commission, the group headed out to the local arcade, led by Mina and Kirishima, who were positively bursting with excitement.

Of those coming along, Kurai did his best to remember the names that matched with his classmates' faces. He already knew Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, Jiro, Sero, and Midoriya, but the green-haired boy had elected not join them, instead going home via the same bus route as Iida and the girl, Uraraka. Among the others that had elected to come along were Tsuyu Asui, a girl that very strongly resembled a frog, which left Kurai with a pretty solid guess as to what her quirk did.

There was also the invisible girl, Toru Hagakure, who seemed none the worse for her close call that morning. Also joining them was Momo Yaoyorozu, an attractive girl with long black hair who seemed very eager to impress. Last of all were Mashirao Ojiro, the boy with the tail, and Rikido Sato, whose appearance was mostly normal, save for his large mouth and bulky muscles.

Kurai felt rather uncomfortable, tagging along with people that he'd had minimal interaction with, but he made himself go along because he knew that it would be important to form good relationships with them whenever he could- after all, someday they might end up trusting one another with their lives. Probably better to start off on a positive note, especially if it helps them ignore my earlier mistakes, he thought resignedly.

"Hey, why so glum, big guy?" a voice asked from next to him. It startled him at first, because he couldn't figure out where the speaker was, until he realized that it was Hagakure, who had apparently dropped back to walk with him behind everyone else.

"Er, just thinking," he stammered.

"What about?" she chirped.

"The future?" he replied lamely after thinking of a somewhat truthful response.

"That's kinda vague," she giggled, either ignoring or not noticing his discomfort. "Care to be more specific?"

"Well… I mean, I guess I was just thinking about what life will be like for us after we finish at U.A.," he answered. "Some of us will probably go to university and work as sidekicks for some of the bigger pros while the lucky ones will get to start their own agencies straightaway. I was just kind of… wondering which of us will keep working together even after high school and which of us will go it alone."

"Well, I can think of one blond pyro-freak that's gonna have a hard time making any friends in the hero world," Hagakure giggled again. "I think you're gonna be just fine, though."

"Why do you say that?" Kurai asked, though he was secretly relieved that he wasn't the only one to find himself disliking Bakugo.

"Well, you seem like a really nice guy, and your quirk is amazing, even with that drawback we saw," she said with what sounded like a smile. "Midoriya told Iida about how you helped him during the test, and it kind of got around the class when we asked him about you. I thought that was really sweet for you to do. Very… heroic."

"Heroic?" he sputtered with a laugh, despite himself. "How was that heroic?"

"You helped someone who needed it with no thought to yourself," the invisible girl replied. "And what's even cooler, you didn't even know you did it until somebody else pointed it out to you. If that's not the attitude of a hero, I dunno what is."

Her words warmed his heart as well as his face, and he found himself ducking his head with embarrassment. "Thanks," he mumbled. "I never really thought about it that way. It just seemed like the decent thing to do."

Hagakure laughed and said, "Well, I know who I'm gonna call if I ever need a hero in that future you were thinking of." She started laughing even harder when Kurai turned positively scarlet at her words.

The group rented out a large room for two hours, which Yaoyorozu paid for, surprising her classmates, because the place was nice, and it couldn't have been cheap. "I just want our first outing to memorable," she said when asked if it was okay for her to drop that much cash on a whim. "It's important for us to have positive experiences whenever possible."

Huh, Kurai had thought. Guess I'm not the only one thinking about the future and how we'll be facing it together. Either way, none of them were going to protest against saving themselves a few bucks.

Since there were a dozen of them, they decided to use the first hour on singles, then the second doing duets. There was some squabbling over who would get to pair up with whom, but eventually the matter was settled by drawing numbered straws twice, since there was enough time for them all to go twice during the duet hour.

Kurai found himself being paired up with Ojiro first, then Mina, which gave him pause. He'd only been to the arcade a few times with Iida and some of the other guys at his middle school, and he'd certainly never sung in public before, much less with a cute girl.

He had little time to think on the matter before the tablet was handed to him for him to decide which song he would be singing solo. Having always been a fan of the old Dragon Ball franchise, he decided to sing the intro for Dragon Ball Z. Hardly original, but eh, if I'm going to try and have a good time, I might as well go with something I feel comfortable with, he decided.

With Ojiro, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he and the boy had similar tastes in manga and anime, which meant that they were able to agree on which song to pick. Their choice wound up being 'Seven Deadly Sins' from the anime of the same name.

When it came to Mina, he was simply too embarrassed to make any suggestions, only managing to tell her that she could pick whichever song she wanted. She wouldn't have it though, and insisted that he help pick the music. They went back and forth for a few minutes before the pink girl huffed and said, "Fine, I'll pick! How's your English?"

"Uh… Pretty good, why?" he asked, his apprehension suddenly growing to a new level.

"Nope!" she grinned evilly. "You said that I should pick, and now that I know you can do English, I've got an idea!" With that, she entered a song and handed it off to Yaoyorozu.

"I don't even get a hint?" the boy complained.

Mina smirked again and simply replied, "Dragons."

"Dragons…? What?"

Kurai found himself enjoying the gathering more than he thought he would. Some of the music choices surprised him, but it helped him to gain some insight into the people that sang them. Jiro acted fairly cold and standoffish, but once the old fashioned rock-and-roll started blasting out of the speakers, she completely broke out of her shell and proved to have a pretty good voice. Kirishima tried to rap, but mostly made his classmates laugh- though to his credit, he laughed along with them, so there were no hard feelings about it. Hagakure sang a song by an American named Katy Perry- something about fireworks, he thought. Yaoyorozu sang a classical piece that sounded quite difficult to do correctly- again reinforcing Kurai's thought that the girl felt as though she had a lot to prove.

While everyone else took their turns, the classmates decided to order some snacks and drinks to help pass the time, breaking down into groups of four to a booth.

When it came time for Kurai to try, he was shaking and imagining all the ways that he could screw up. Then the music began, and he surrendered his control over to the sound of his childhood. As he belted out the lyrics to 'Head Cha La', he forgot that he was standing in front of potential friends and partners, and instead remembered all the weekend mornings he'd spent with Akarui, cheering on Goku and Vegeta as they struggled against one insurmountable villain after the other, always finding some way to pull through. When the song ended, he found himself a little out of breath and smiling without really knowing why.

His classmates applauded him, and he sat down back in his booth with Mina, Ojiro and Sero, his face flushed and still trying to regain his breath. "That was terrifying," he said before gulping down some of his iced tea.

"How is that you can take on a gigantic killer robot, but getting up and shouting out to some tunes makes you shake in your boots?" Mina laughed.

"This is completely different!" Kurai protested, but all he did was get his classmates to laugh at him again. Still, the laughter felt good- he knew it wasn't directed at him, per se, but rather meant for him.

He found himself smiling again with the thought, I can see myself being friends with people like these.

His and Ojiro's turn came quicker than Kurai had expected, but he managed to compose himself well enough to give a decent performance alongside the boy with the tail. More importantly, he had fun, and it looked like Ojiro did, too.

Once again, they were applauded, and they returned to their seats with Kurai trying to catch his breath and trembling a little. Seeing this, Mina peered closely at him and asked, "Hey, are you doing okay?"

"Yes," the boy breathed as he went for his drink again. "I'm just… ah… still tired from my healing session at the nurse's."

"Oh," she said, looking a little disappointed. "Should we skip our turn when it comes up, then? If you're not feeling well, we don't have to do this."

Kurai gave her a tired smile in response. "I've made it this far," he breathed. "Why give up now?"

"You sure?" she asked.

"No, but I gotta start going plus ultra at some point, right?" he grinned weakly.

Before they began, Mina turned to him and asked, "You ever see those How to Train You Dragon movies?"

"That series that started back in the early 2000's?" Kurai answered. "Yeah, those were great films when I was younger. My little brother still thinks they're the best."

"Aw, you have a brother?" she cooed. "What's he like?"

"Can I get back to you on that?" he said as Jiro and Yaoyorozu handed them the mics. "I think we have more pressing concerns."

"Oh, right," Mina grinned. "Get ready, then. This song is one I've always loved, so you better help me make it look good."

"Right…" the boy said as he began to sweat lightly. All of his original trepidation seemed to have returned and been amplified as the spotlight fell on them, and he found himself getting ready to sing with a girl. A very cute, very energetic girl.

This is going to be a problem if I ever fight any attractive villains, he thought as he paled a little more.

Then there was no more time to think on it the sounds of violins came out of the speakers to create a Celtic tune that he remembered hearing from a few years ago. Soon after, words began to appear on the screen, one colored blue for the male part, and pink for the girl, ironically enough.

When I was six years old, I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down
I was younger then
Take me back to when I

Found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I've grown
But I can't wait to go home

I'm on my way
Driving at ninety down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way you make me feel

And it's real
We watched the sunset

Over the castle on the hill

Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law through the backfields and

Getting drunk with my friends

Had my first kiss on a Friday night

I don't reckon that I did it right
But I was younger then

Take me back to when

We found weekend jobs, when we got paid
We'd buy cheap spirits and drink them straight
Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long, oh how we've grown
But I can't wait to go home

I'm on my way
Driving at ninety down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real
We watched the sunset

Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

One friend left to sell clothes
One works down by the coast

One had two kids but lives alone
One's brother overdosed

One's already on his second wife
One's just barely getting by
But these people raised me and I can't wait to go home

And I'm on my way, I still remember

These old country lanes

When we did not know the answers
And I miss the way you make me feel, it's real
We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

Done singing, Kurai drew in and released a long breath of relief. It's finally over, he thought as he wiped sweat from his brow. Are the lights always so hot in here? He wondered. He was about to ask his partner the question aloud when he noticed that she had gotten a lot closer to him during the song without his noticing.

"That was awesome!" Mina giggled as she threw herself at the recovering boy, wrapping him up in a tight hug for a second before letting go and hopping off the stage.

Kurai was not so quick to leave- mostly because he felt as though his head had just imploded. What just happened? He wondered dumbly.

At the end of the day, Kurai flopped down on his bed, utterly spent. He had barely managed to stay awake long enough to eat dinner and finish his homework, light though load was. He had also been forced to recount his first day of class to his family, though he omitted the part about his seizure.

He had decided to tell his parents about it in private another day, one where he didn't feel so exhausted. He knew that tiredness was mostly from using his quirk so extensively over the course of the day, and another factor would be the drain Recovery Girl's quirk had put on his body. Then there was the effort that it had taken to get up on a stage in front of people that he barely knew, but would depend on in the days to come. Finally, there was the way that Mina had acted at the end of their song.

What was up with that hug…? We don't know each other that well… Girls don't make sense, he thought before sleep claimed him.

He woke up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. I have a better grasp of who I'm going to be spending my days with, and now at least I know what to expect from Mister Aizawa, he thought firmly as he grabbed his bag from where he had put it by the door the previous evening. Plus, today is the day we get to begin Hero Basic Training.

"You gonna get to try your gear yet?" Akarui asked as he pulled on his shoes alongside his brother.

"I think so," Kurai nodded with a grin. "The schedule says today is basic training."

"And All Might is your teacher, right?" his little brother asked excitedly.

"Yes, and I will try to get an autograph for you," Kurai laughed.

"You better, or I'm not helping you next time," the younger Hikari smirked. Growing more serious, he added, "But let me know if it works out the way we planned it. I might be able to think of some improvements during lunch."

"Will do," Kurai nodded, also growing serious. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that there was no one close by to eavesdrop, he added in a lowered tone, "Between you and me, I need this to go right. Otherwise I might be facing hospital time again."

Akarui's eyes widened, but he merely nodded without a sound.

Kurai met up with Iida after he got off his bus, and the two walked at a brisk pace- it was as fast as the bespectacled student was able to get his friend to go- and talked about their previous evenings. Iida had spent his afternoon with his brother, discussing a few of his latest adventures and the lessons that Tenya could learn from them.

When it came to him, Kurai recounted the songs he had performed and the names of the students that he could remember. He told Iida about how he found himself becoming friendly with the others faster than he thought he would, after which the other boy replied that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Who're your new friends?" Kurai asked curiously.

"Midoriya and Uraraka accompanied me to the station yesterday, and we fell to talking," Iida explained. "I admit that I misjudged Midoriya rather harshly- he's a bright, kind student, and I'm glad that I'm getting the chance to know him."

"And Uraraka?"

"She's a very pleasant, upbeat girl that will make a great hero one day," Iida asserted. "Her compassion seems to have touched Midoriya in particular. Based on what I've seen of him, he's not used to having many friends, so her companionship must mean a great deal to him." Looking down at his friend, the engine-quirk-enhanced boy added, "I was surprised that you didn't invite him along to the arcade, honestly. He seems to admire you to a certain degree."

"I guess I was more tired than I thought," Kurai shrugged, though in his head he was kicking himself. "I kept feeling like I was gonna pass out while I was there."

"Is it some kind of aftereffect from the seizure?" Iida asked, concerned.

"Not entirely," Kurai replied as they strolled through the entrance to the school, joining the throng of students on their way to class. "It was that, Recovery Girl's quirk, and the mental strain of the day, I guess."

"Be extra-careful today, then," his friend cautioned.

"I know," Kurai nodded. "Akarui helped come up with a little something that should help me keep a better handle on things."

"What's that?"

The period after lunch was abuzz with excitement- the class that all of them had come for was about to begin. Many of the students were chattering among themselves in anticipation of the arrival of the number one hero and what basic training could entail. Much to the relief of a good portion of the class, Aizawa was not there to kill the mood.

It had been a rather dull day so far since it began with English class, taught by Present Mic. Only Yaoyorozu and Iida seemed truly committed to throwing themselves into the course- everyone else, even Kurai, felt bored out of their skulls.

Mina tried to wave him over to sit with her, but he found himself frozen with indecision until the seats beside her were taken by Jiro and Bakugo, and there was no way he was going to sit near the blond kid if he had a choice. So he gave her an apologetic shrug and ducked into the back row, where he found himself sitting beside Iida and the boy with the bird head. He thought that Mina had looked disappointed, but he tried not to think about it- the more he considered her actions toward him, the more confused he felt.

The rest of the day went by quickly enough, much to his relief. Lunch was a pleasant affair when Kurai found himself being invited to sit with Iida across from Midoriya and Uraraka. He had thus far not been formally introduced to the girl, and he found her to be a charming individual, just like his friend had said. More than that, she seemed to bounce energy off those that she was around, and this trait was most obvious with their green-haired classmate, somewhat to Kurai's amusement.

They then had Modern Literature, taught by Cementoss. That class was a little more engaging, but because of what was coming afterward, most of the students had a hard time paying attention to what the professor was teaching.

Now they were all in their homeroom, just waiting for what would certainly be the best class to begin.

Without warning, the door was thrown open to admit a towering, muscular figure that radiated power and confidence. The incarnation of heroism, the unarguable number one hero in all the world was standing in the entrance to class 1-A, larger than life. "I… Am… Here!" All Might boomed as strutted into the room, dressed in a caped outfit of blue and red, complimented by yellow gauntlets and boots. "Coming through the door like a hero!"

Exclamations of adulation and excitement swept through the class as the Symbol of Peace made himself known.

"I can't believe it's really All Might!" Kaminari grinned.

"This year's gonna be totally awesome!" Kirishima agreed.

"Is that his Silver Age costume?" Asui inquired with a blank look.

"I'm getting goosebumps," Ojiro laughed. "It's so retro!"

Kurai held his tongue, but he had to admit, being in the presence of the most powerful hero of them all was more impressive than he had ever thought it would be. I can see why his presence alone diffuses a large number of situations, he thought admiringly.

As All Might reached the podium from which Aizawa normally spoke, the giant of a man declared, "Welcome to the most important class at U.A. High! Think of it as Heroing 101!" Sweeping his gaze across the room, he added, "Here you will learn the basics of what it takes to be a hero. And you'll learn what it means to fight in the name of good!"

Adopting a stance that allowed him to flex his physique, he declared, "Let's get into it! Today's lessons will pull no punches!" With that, he whirled around and held up a flashcard that had one word in big red letters: 'Battle!'

Bakugo immediately got excited, growling with barely contained glee, "Fight training!"

"Actual combat?" Midoriya gulped.

Oh boy, Kurai thought nervously. If I go into a fight without Akarui's-

Continuing on as though no one had said a word, All Might boomed, "But! One of the keys to being a hero is… Lookin' good!" He swept his right arm around to point at the wall opposite to where the door was. As he did, hidden panels in the wall slid out to reveal twenty briefcases, each numbered in tandem with their seating arrangement. "These were created by the support team based on your quirk registrations and the designs you sent in before school started!"

Kurai breathed a huge sigh of relief at that while everyone else went absolutely ballistic with excitement, cheering and whooping so loud that it was almost a full minute before All Might was able to reign them in.

"Get yourselves suited up, then meet me at training ground Beta!" he said.

"Yes sir!" the class responded.

Not fifteen minutes later, the group of freshman emerged from the tunnel that led into the faux city that was to be their de facto classroom for the session. As soon as the first of them began to emerge from the dark, All Might looked on at them approvingly and said, "They say that the clothes make the pros, and behold, young ladies and gentlemen, you are the proof!"

Their costumes were varied in appearance and functionality, and every single one spoke volumes about its wearer. Iida wore a suit of polished armor much like Ingenium, Bakugo wore massive gauntlets shaped like grenades, while Todoroki wore a suit that encased half of his body in what looked like ice, and Yaoyorozu wore an outfit that- while alluring- left very little to the imagination and seemed quite at odds with her 'model student' persona. There were many other costumes that caught Kurai's eye, but he thought that none were as great as the one that his brother had helped him come up with.

He wore what at first glance seemed to be a simple gi with short sleeves, thick combat boots, and armored bracers. His pectorals and upper back were also protected by light armor that contoured perfectly to his body and would allow for easy movement, despite it looking like a tight fit. His bracers covered his forearms completely, stopping just short of his wrists so that his movements would not be impeded. The fabric was blue, and the armor was the color of an orange sunset, an homage to Son Goku, one of his favorite manga heroes. The true function of the armor was known only to him for now, and he couldn't wait to see how well it would serve him in this particular situation.

"Take this to heart!" All Might declared as they finished assembling before him. "From now on, you are all… Heroes-in-training!" Giving them each a once-over, his already-broad smile grew even wider as he added, "This is getting me all revved up- you look so cool!"

Raising his chin up, the giant man asked, "Now… shall we get started, you buncha newbies?"

Deku: I guess we know what's going to get Hikari, in the end.

Kurai: You haven't read any of his other stories, have you?

Deku: No, why?

Kurai: Mataras has a nasty habit of yanking the rug out from under you just when you think you've got him figured out.

Mataras: I don't know that 'nasty' is the right word... I'd call it consistent, if anything.

Deku: Well, I didn't expect the karaoke bit, I admit that.

Kurai: That's not the half of it. He actually sang the bit for the audio chapter.

Mataras: Well, I didn't want YouTube flagging me for using someone else's property, so... Castle on the Hill is written and originally performed by Ed Sheeran, and it's a great song, you guys should check it out and buy it if you haven't already. My wife and I just thought we'd have a little fun and try to sing it, too.

Kurai: You think anybody came to see this after they heard your pipes playing? You're butchered that poor song, pal.

Mataras: It was a genuine effort on my part!

Kurai: Maybe, but I wouldn't call it Plus Ultra.

Deku: Speaking of... we should probably wrap this part up.

Mataras: Please, let's.

Kurai: Next time- Principles. I gotta wonder who I'm gonna get paired up with for the combat practice?

Mataras: Go Beyond!

Deku: Plus Ultra!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

The hero team was not hard to find for Kurai. Not because he was particularly skilled at detecting enemy forces, but rather because Kaminari and Jiro were arguing a little too loudly.

"I'm just saying, maybe we should head back out and see if All Might calls off the match!" Kaminari was protesting. "We can't really do this with malfunctioning gear!"

"We'll be fine," Jiro insisted. "Real heroes can do the job with or without their equipment. If we wanna be pros we need to work around problems like this."

"I tried to give 'em a jump, but your amplifiers still might be shot!" Kaminari groaned. "Without that, we-"

"Shh!" Jiro suddenly demanded, causing Kurai to freeze in place just around the corner of the hall that the two other students were in.

To his credit, Kaminari did as she requested, speaking softly so that Kurai could barely make out, "What's wrong?"

"There's someone on this floor, close by," Jiro asserted. "I think it's probably-"

"Surprise!" Kurai shouted as he pulled the pin on his grenade and flung it around the corner.